Terra Fit

Rewards

2012-02-08T10:55:00.001-08:00

So I've been thinking about rewards for the last week. What is a reward? Well we all know, but I thought I would google the definition.

Reward: A thing given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement.

A thing given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement. Hmmm, okay. So a thing. What about the rewards we automatically get on this journey to health: improved health, an increase in energy, a fit body, knocking down our mental barriers, etc. I think those are pretty great rewards! But, sometimes we need to have something that we can actually see to remind us of our great achievements.

Last summer I was watching Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition with Chris Powell. He calls himself a Transformation Specialist. He has a degree in Exercise Science with concentrations in physiology and biomechanics. WOW! This guy knows what he's doing! One thing that I especially liked was his system. Each participant was given a year. He then broke that year down into 4 phases. Each phase had a specific goal and a reward. Now these rewards were HUGE! I of course don't have the deep pockets of ABC, so my rewards will be on a much smaller scale. I loved the idea of the phases. I thought that this was definitely something that I could use.

So the other day I sat down and thought about what my phases could be with goals and rewards. It's tough for me to put in deadlines as I'm nursing, I'm not quite sure how that would work. So I've set out my goals and rewards.

Here they are:

PHASE 1
Goal: 10% - 228lbs (-25lbs)
Reward: 2 new outfits

PHASE 2
Goal: Onederland - 199lbs (-29lbs)
Reward: iPad

PHASE 3
Goal: 10% - 186lbs (-20lbs)
Reward: Lululemon workout clothes

PHASE 4
Goal: THE BIG ONE - 160lbs (-26lbs)
Reward: Trip to NYC

Mini Phases
Goal: 20lbs
Reward: Massage

I'm looking forward to and very excited to achieve each and every one of these goals. When you have something very specific to work towards, it kind of takes the guess work out of getting there. Put in the work, reap the rewards!

Have you put a plan into place like this with your specific goals and rewards?

2012-02-05T12:53:00.000-08:00

We're having a Super Bowl party today and I decided to make lighter versions of popular Super Bowl party foods. Below are the links to the recipes I made:

1) Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe from Skinnytaste.com (1/2 cup - 3+pts) (I will be replacing the crumbled blue cheese with light cheddar - will update if points affected)
2) Skinny Baked Jalapeno Poppers recipe from Skinnytaste.com (2 poppers - 2+pts)
3) Tara's Guacamole (1/4 cup - 4+pts)
4) Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing (1 mini - 2+pts) (I am replacing the sugar with Splenda +1/2 cup skimmed milk powder and an extra 1/2 tsp baking soda. (I actually halved the icing ingredients and sprinkled each cupcake with shredded sweetened coconut (1/2 cup for recipe))

So that's 12 pts for a serving of each of the above. To cut down on the pts to go with the dip, I will be having celery/carrot sticks instead of crackers or chips. As for the guacamole...we'll see. Guests are bringing chili, wings, tortilla chips and hummus. I think I'll stick to my dishes. Oh, I may also have to make a punch! I will probably do that with club soda, crystal light and fruit.

I'm excited for the party! I think this is the first time ever where I've planned ahead to make sure I provided options which fit in with my new lifestyle, but are still delicious and who am I kidding - fun!

Weekly Mini-Goals

2012-02-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

I was reading some blogs the other day and came across one post that was on weekly mini-goals. I had forgotten that before I got pregnant that's basically what I was doing! It really, really helped. So while little miss was having her nap the other day, I wrote out my mini-goals for the week:

Hydration: Drink 8-10 glasses of water (64-80oz)
Fitness: 18-20 AP (Weight Watchers Activity Points) - 90 min of which should be cardio
Nutrition: 5 fruit/veg per day and 3 dairy
Support: Blog 4 times (Either WW or Terra Fit)
Home: Don't sit down until everything is done that I need to get done (when little miss is napping)

Scale: 3.4lbs (the remainder of the 10lbs I challenged myself to lose before Cancun)

So I wanted to share this and next Tuesday (weigh-in day) I'll give a full report on how I did!

Have you thought about doing weekly mini-goals to help you get to your end-goal? If not, give it a go! I think you'll find it really helps :)

Scale-a-holic

2012-01-27T17:57:00.001-08:00

Hello, my name is Tara and I'm a scale-a-holic.

Yes, it's true. Every morning I have a ritual. I won't go into specific details, but it always ends with me on the scale. My reasoning was that I'd like to see how much harder I'd have to work. Yes, I know they say you shouldn't really focus on that as there are so many factors that can come into play with a fluctuating daily weight. So why was I doing it? Habit. Pure habit (with a dash of self-torture).

So this week I decided to break this habit. Since I was "re-wiring" my brain, I may as well re-wire my brain on this too. Let me tell you, like any habit, it's been a tough go. Ohh how I've had the urges. I feel like I'm doing really well and I just want to hop on the scale to see how well. D has been helping out though and he reminds me of how to look at it. "Would you rather see where you're at right now or how about how far you can go by Tuesday. Wouldn't you rather that greater triumph?" Thanks hun! He goes on day shift tomorrow - 48 hours where he can't remind me of my goal. So, he's going to hide the scale! Out of sight, out mind.

I'm already half way there. I'm ready to go the distance and not hop on that scale until Tuesday morning.

Breakfast of Champions

2012-01-26T16:22:00.000-08:00

So, I've decided to start my day with oatmeal. It's a great start to the day. It fills you up and really leaves you feeling satisfied. Since I am nursing little miss and working out more, I was concerned with drying up too soon. I read that oatmeal helps with lactation. So, daily oatmeal it's been! Now, just plain oatmeal every single morning can get so boring, so the foodie in me started to play around with the flavours. So far this week I have made four different variations. I thought I would share with you since they have been so delicious!

Peanut Butter Cup Oatmeal

1/3 cup quick oats

1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder

1 tsp splenda

3/4 water (I've also made with skim milk, just adjust the pts)

1 tbsp light peanut butter

Combine the first 3 ingredients and stir. Add the water and stir. Then stir in the peanut butter. Microwave for 2 minutes. Remove, stir, enjoy!

WW+pts: 7

Almond Joy Oatmeal

1/3 quick oats

1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder

1 tsp splenda

1/2 tbsp medium unsweetened desiccated coconut

1 tbsp slivered almonds

3/4 cup water

1/2 tsp coconut extract

Combine the first 3 ingredients and stir. Mix in the coconut and almonds. Add the water and stir. Then stir in the coconut extract. Microwave for 2 minutes. Remove, stir, enjoy!

WW+pts: 7

Cranberry Orange Oatmeal

1/3 cup quick oats

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder

3/4 cup skim milk

2 tbsp orange juice

2 tbsp dried cranberries

pinch of cinnamon

Combine the first 2 ingredients and then stir in the milk and orange juice. Mix in the cranberries. Microwave for 2 minutes. Remove, stir, sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy!

WW+pts: 7

Tropical Oatmeal

1/3 cup quick oats

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 tsp splenda

3/4 cup water

1/2 pineapple, diced

1/2 medium banana, diced

1 tbsp unsweetened, medium desiccated coconut

Combine the first 3 ingredients. Stir in the water then mix in the last 3 ingredients. Microwave for 2 minutes, stir, and enjoy!

WW+pts: 8

Are you an oatmeal eater? Do you like yours the good ol' fashioned way? Or do you like to spruce it up. If so, what's your favorite?

Green Monster Smoothie

2012-01-25T09:34:00.000-08:00

So I came across this recipe on Pinterest last night and it's from a great blog, Skinnytaste. I've actually been seeing this "Green Monster" around in a few different places, so I thought I may as well give it a go. Am I ever glad I did! It is DELICIOUS! Seriously...aside from it's vibrant green colour, you would never know there's spinach in it! I had to adapt the recipe as I didn't have quite exactly the ingredients specified and I also added a bit of vanilla protein powder. Nontheless, DELISH! This one will definitely be added into my breakfast rotation...or any time of day rotation to be honest!

So here it is sitting in the blender awaiting a whirl.

And here it is all blended up into sweet, satisfying deliciousness ready to go in my belly!

Green Monster Smoothie (adapted from here)

1 medium banana, frozen

3/4 cup skim milk

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (only had Oikos honey cups, so just scooped the plain yogurt off the top!)

1 tbsp light peanut butter

2 cups spinach

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder

2 cups spinach

Place all in a blender. Blend! Pour into a glass and ENJOY!

Nutrition Info:

Calories 552.3

Fat 10.9g

Carbs 76.9

Fibre 5.1

Protein 42.4

WW+Pts: 13

Note: Next time I'm going to try and use some different ingredients to try and get those numbers down. Nonethess, this is a great choice to start off your day!

Re-wiring

2012-01-24T20:40:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I've written. I've been putting it off and putting it off, so finally today I just decided to write. I find that I'm comparing myself to others quite often and was even doing that with my blog. I was thinking that I should have all of these topics, research them, have something really good to say about it and pose a question. I feel like mine should be like someone else's. Not my own. I guess what happens is that I feel like I should be like somebody else, something more...but I realized today there's no one out there like me - I'm me! So instead of contemplating what I should be writing about, how I should write it, how I should present it, I decided to just - WRITE!

This past week I've actually been doing a lot of thinking. I think probably since we went to visit my parents, I really got stuck in a rut. I was on a losing trend and gained a bit when we went to Vancouver. Tried to get it back when we got back, but then before I knew it, it was Christmas. The two weeks of Christmas holidays....I gained 9lbs! Nine freaking pounds! I had no inhibitions whatsoever. I stopped tracking my WW points, I ate everything I saw...Nanaimo bars being my worst enemy. Oh Nanaimo Bars why do you have to be SO delicious?! So then came the next couple weeks after Christmas. MAJOR struggle. I was trying to do everything and do it all at once. I was trying to figure out how to balance my weight loss efforts while nursing little miss. I was thinking that I always needed to see big numbers, otherwise it meant I wasn't succeeding. I was thinking about how I was so close to my pre-pregnancy weight (4lbs), then gained so much (I have a history of getting so close and then sabotaging myself). I was stressed out! What helped me overcome that struggle was a phone call with my mom. She was telling me of her struggles and what she had been experiencing. So I thought about what she was going through and how it related to my struggle!

The light bulb! Aha!

I don't have to do everything RIGHT NOW! With my weight loss...if I were to lose 1lb per week...in a year that's 52lbs! FIFTY TWO POUNDS! How much closer I would be to my goal doing that, then with the mentality I've had where it all has to come off now. Going gung ho at the beginning...petering out, losing momentum and not even close to my goal - most likely further away. The old tortoise and hare trick.
So! I'm not stressing out about it. I'm just making sure that I eat healthily, get in some exercise during the week - NOT going crazy about it.

This is going to take time. When I think about where I could be in a year's time, it makes me excited of where that is.

I will strive for greatness! Not for the greatness of someone else, but for the greatness in me.

Chips Ahoy Middles...I Curse You!

2011-11-19T22:57:00.000-08:00

I didn't have the greatest of days today. First of all, D started back on night shift this weekend. I loathe night shift! I actually used to really enjoy it...getting to stretch out in bed - heavenly! Since little miss came along, not so much! Hate it! We do fine, I would just much rather have him here at night. Secondly, we leave Monday to my parents' for nine days. I started working on a packing list about two weeks ago. I, myself usually pack like I'm moving. Never mind packing for a 3 month old now too. So I've been stressing out about packing for her. Will I take everything we need? Will I forget something essential? I've been stressing out about the car seat and stroller situation...will we get to skycheck both items? We're taking the car seat and the stroller base. We'll be getting the car seat adapter for the stroller down there. I don't want to have to check the car seat and have them throw it around, like they do other luggage. What about the car seat base? In the suitcase? It's too big to lug around attached to the car seat. Then today panic is starting to set in like I'm not going to be able to get everything done in time. D really only has 2 hours that he's up before he has to leave for work again. I'm such a planner and have to have everything organized and in place ahead of time. All of this has just been weighing heavily on me. Then there's the fact of this being little miss' first airplane ride. How will she do on the plane? I stress out about all of this so much now, but in the end I always know that it's going to work out and be just fine. I have a baby now, I have to learn to be flexible... So how did I cope with all of this today? Chips Ahoy Middles.

Chips Ahoy Middles. 16 to be exact. Yes. I ate 16 cookies. They're small so when you're eating them, it doesn't really seem like that many. Mindless, they go down really, very easy. Not good. Not good at all. I reverted to my old coping mechanism...eating. Now usually what happens here is that eating's bestie denial shows up. However, one thing was different today. Denial didn't show. I didn't pretend I never ate them. I knew I had to track those 16 cookies. I had to pay the consequences for my actions. So I did just that...I tracked those cookies all 34 points of them! Yes, 34 points for those small Chips Ahoy Middles. Was it worth it? Absolutely not. I can think of so many other WAY more delicious foods to total 34 points that I could have consumed. So I obviously had to dip into my WP (weekly points) which I would have much rather have used for an absolutely delicious dinner the night we get to my parents'. They reset that night anyway, but still - not the point.

So today I stressed out and ate 16 cookies (which I tracked). I did get a 30 minute UFC Trainer workout in though (am I redeemed?).

So now how will my eating fair while we're on vacation at my parents' who always seem to have the BEST food in the house?!

I am really very excited though. I love being with my parents and not to mention - Vancouver! The most exciting part is that my dad will finally get to meet his granddaughter :)

Braving the Elements

2011-11-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I hadn't quite decided what I was going to do for my workout. Right now I've been doing two workouts: UFC Trainer on Kinect and my bike trainer ( I have it set up in the spare room with a tv and dvd player. I plop my girl in her bouncy vibrating chair and turn on Baby Einstein. I get my workout on and she gets her learn on. It's a win win!). Then I saw a woman go power walking by with her dog and stroller. I thought, "Yes! That's what I'm going to do today!"

I made a mental note of everything I needed to get ready to head out. Before it used to be: put on clothes, runners, jacket, iPod - GO! Now, not quite so easy! It's almost like you're packing for a trip, just to go for a walk! So, I got myself ready then got my girl ready. Bundled her up in her snowsuit and toque. Brought the stroller up from the basement (that's a feat in itself!). As I was getting that ready I looked outside and it was starting to rain/snow... Do I still go? YEAH! Got my girl in her stroller, all bundled in nicely under a nice warm blanket, grabbed the rain shield, yada, yada, yada, a few more tasks later and we were off....30 minutes later! HA! - Quickly learning that things just aren't get up and go anymore!

So I started off and it was so wet, but I kept going. My girl looked warm and dry, so we were good! I wasn't quite sure how far we would go...I guess the weather would help us decide. The wind just started to blow like crazy! The rain/snow as now coming down sideways. I got to the edge where residential meets downtown and thought okay, I think we should turn around now. So I turned the stroller back around and started back for home. The wind was just coming at me head on and it was quite the workout pushing that stroller into the wind! The rain/snow was now hitting my face, my jacket was getting soaked and the bottoms of my pants were soggy. It was funny, as I was out there, it reminded me of doing my paper route when I was a kid. I got the exact same feeling, even the air had the same smell. It took me back many years!

We made it home and everyone was in one piece! My girl was still nice, dry and warm! Mommy on the other hand, not so much... I checked the clock and we were out for 25 minutes! Less time than it took to get ready. Oh well! "Such is the way of life" as one of my co-workers would say. My legs were burning and my feet were achy, so it was a pretty good walk! I felt good! The best part was feeling accomplished - that I actually got out there, despite the weather. Around here, it's expected!

Do you ever get out there and brave the elements to get a workout in even though it's so much nicer to just stay inside?

Back at it... Again!

2011-11-15T15:12:00.000-08:00

How many times do we say this? For me I think I've lost count now. I was thinking about it last night and i thought you know, I don't think we'll ever stop saying it because what we're doing is not temporary. We're doing this for life. And, if we're doing this for life, it's going to pop out of our mouths many a times. If there was an end for "Back at it... Again" that would mean we've thrown in the towel - we just gave up. I don't know about you but, I'm not giving up on my life.

So yes, here I am back at it again. This time however is quite a bit different then any other time in my weight loss journey - I'm a Mommy! To be able to say that just brings an incredible amount of joy to me. Also, I know now that I'm not just on this journey for me, but for my little girl and our future.

So during my pregnancy my ob told me that I could only gain 15lbs because I was on the higher risk side - being obese and having a high end of the normal spectrum blood pressure. Well I really felt that pressure of knowing I "shouldn't" gain more than the 15. It was tough. I was tired a lot. I used to work out after work and by the time I got home from work, I had nothing left in me. I was usually in bed by 9. So the workouts pretty much became non-existent. Every once in a while I would get out for a walk, but that was all. By the end of my pregnancy, I had gained 37lbs. A far cry from 15. My ob's main concern was my blood pressure, but it remained fine. So we were all good. Really, all in all, I had a fairly easy pregnancy. Then came labour...ohhh then came labour! 50 hours of back labour! Some say that it's not like how it is in the movies, where the woman is just screaming....well, I was not quiet, let me tell you! I'm sure the whole hospital heard my amazonian cries! I delivered naturally, though it wasn't a natural labour as I needed drugs and ended up having an epidural (which was my last resort). But after that long, strenuous, is this actually happening "adventure", my absolutely beautiful, healthy 9lbs 11oz 23" long little girl was born.

So now here I am trying to figure out how I continue on my "journey to health" (as I like to call it) while being a first time Mommy. My daughter is now 11.5 weeks old and I'm nursing. How do I do this?

I was really starting to get antsy about working out. I just wanted to get back at it. I was a little unsure when I should do this. Even though I delivered naturally, I still wanted to wait until my six week check-up with my ob before doing anything. I had my six week check up on October 17th - I was good to go!

Prior to getting pregnant I had fallen in love with two things - spinning (cycling) and boxing. I was really dying to get back to both. Well to help me with both of those things, my husband bought me two things: a bike trainer and UFC Trainer for Kinect (I had really been wanting this since it was released!). So I started up with both. I didn't really set out a program for myself, but would just work out whenever I found a bit of extra time (whenever my girl would let me!). It was going alright, but I was really struggling with one thing...my food!

I just could not find the balance with my food! I knew I had to eat more as I'm breastfeeding, but how much more and how much more of what? I just couldn't figure it out. I found that I wouldn't eat enough during the day and by the time dinner time rolled around, I just wanted to eat everything and anything - and I would. Something needed to change. I was struggling. I then remembered before I had my baby my mom was telling me about how Weight Watchers really seemed to have a great program for nursing mothers. I've done Weight Watchers in the past and liked it, so I thought I may as well check it out.

So on November 8th, I registered with Weight Watchers online. It took me about a day and a half before I really got the hang of the online program and let me tell you - I'm in love! The program is working wonders for me so far! I've found the balance that I was craving. I no longer find myself scrambling around trying to find something to eat, or what I should eat. I love how you track your points AND the 'healthy checks' (types of food). I'm eating consciously again and that was seriously lacking. Also, the online community is absolutely fantastic. The support there is just unbelievable! I'm going to be posting this blog on my WW blog as well.

I am really excited to be back on the road again on my journey to health.

This mommy is back at it... Again!

Terra Fit Vlog #2

2010-12-22T18:18:00.000-08:00

Weekly Vlog - Numero Uno

2010-12-15T13:02:00.000-08:00

Terra Fit Challenge 2010- Week 2

2010-08-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

Week 1 is done! It's happened...I have snapped back in! It feels so great to be back!

I hit all my targets for the week: Workouts! Clean Eating! Water! I really had a fantastic week. Even with the long weekend and having to be out at the park all day with work on Saturday, I still managed to stick to my plan!

So numbers wise...how did I do?

Current weight: 240.6 lbs.
Weekly loss: 10.0 lbs.
Total weight loss to date: 10.0 lbs.
Total % weight loss: 3.99%%

10 lbs?! Are you kidding me?! Am I on The Biggest Loser?! Wait...is that Jillian I hear yelling in the other room?! Nope...that's all me!!!

So what do we have in store for Week 2? Well I'm going to continue my same workout schedule that I had last week. As well keep the clean eating going and my water intake. One thing I've noticed (I notice this quite often), is how tight I am and my flexibility. So one more thing I want to add this week is stretching. I do stretch after my workouts, but my muscles are just always so tight! So this is something I'd like to focus more on this week.

Week 2 Goals:

Workout at the gym 5 days - 4 days, 30 min cardio and strength training, 1 day 45 min cardio
Drink 5 -24oz water bottles/day
Eat Clean and keep a journal of what I eat each day
Stretch for 10-15 minutes when I wake up and 20-25 minutes before bed focusing on legs and core

Feel free to comment on how you're doing or what you'd like to see. I love hearing from you!Here's to another fabulous week!

Week 1 - Half way!

2010-07-30T20:54:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Friday! TGIF!!! It's been CRAZY at work so I'm really looking forward to the downtime of the next couple weeks. I always look forward to those first couple weeks after we wrap up the BIG summer promotion. Downtime...who am I kidding?! There's never any downtime in radio. If there was downtime in radio, we wouldn't be doing our job!! Anyway...it's Friday!! Enough about work!

So! How am I doing now with the challenge? Well so far so good! Since I started on Tuesday, I have been at the gym every morning. My alarm goes off at 5:45 and I hit snooze...once twice...yesterday morning I think I hit off instead of snooze as I woke up at 6:36 and sprang out of bed with some expletives coming from my mouth! Nonethess, I have made it to the gym at 7 give or take 10 minutes. Who has a new love for going to the gym in the morning? THIS girl! I'm going to Body by Lori and I really enjoy it. Especially now that they have the new cardio area complete with a spin bike. Should you happen to pop into the gym at 7am Tues-Fri, that's where you'll find me...on the spin bike. Doing my own spin class for 1!

I absolutely love spin! I'd actually love to become an instructor. Right now I have my certain songs that are for certain sequences. I have a playlist on my Ipod that I've named "Killer Workout". So each morning, that playlist goes on shuffle and whatever song pops up, I have a sequence to go with it...

3oh3 featuring Katy Perry "Starstrukk"...jumps. Up-2-3-4, down-2-3-4, up-2-3-4, down-2-3-4...
Lady Antebellum "Need You Now" remix...a progressive hill.
Ian Longo & Wainwright featuring Craig Smart "One Life Stand"...Standing keep the beat.
Natasha Bedingfield "Touch"...sprints.

You get the point. I'm totally loving it!

So that's how I start my morning workout...30 minute spin class for 1. Then I get started on my strength training. I also have 1 day that's just cardio and then 2 rest days. This is my workout schedule:

Monday - rest
Tuesday - 30 min cardio & lower body
Wednesday - 30 min cardio & shoulders/abs
Thursday - 30 min cardio & back/chest
Friday - 45 minutes cardio
Saturday - rest
Sunday - 30 minutes cardio & bis/tris/abs

I'll keep this schedule going for at least 6 weeks. At that point, I'll take a look at it and see if I'm getting bored. See what needs to be switched up, added, etc.

As for my eating, it's been brilliant! This has been a typical food day for me the last four days:

Pre-workout - yogurt cup
Post-workout - protein shake (water & whey protein)
9-9:30am Breakfast - Blueberry Oatmeal: whole oats, vanilla protein powder, blueberries, agave nectar and about a tbsp walnuts (another fave breakfast is a toasted whole wheat english muffin with pb & banana)
11:45 Snack - protein & carb (apple & pb, cottage cheese & fruit, yogurt & fruit)
1:00pm Lunch - protein, carb & veggie (chickpea salad, tuna sandwich on sprouted grain bread with veggies & dip)
3:30-4:30pm Snack - protein & carb
6:30-7:00pm Dinner - Protein, carb & veggie
If I get hungry...usually around 9:30, I'll have a protein shake (my new fave thing to do! - Didn't need one tonight though!)

So that, basically, has been how I've been eating since I began my challenge on Tuesday.

So far, fitness is in check! Food is in check! Water is in check! I'm doing great and I feel fabulous! Oh, and my feet aren't doing so shabby either! (Good news!)

I love being back!! Here's to a strong finish to an already strong start to the week!

Be strong, be active, and be all that you can be. Be empowered by who you are and what you can do!

Terra Fit Challenge 2010 - Week 1

2010-07-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

Here we go!

As I sat out by the pool today, taking in the gorgeous sunshine and just being a "pool bum", I had my notebook and pen with me and I started writing down what it was I wanted to accomplish in week 1 of this challenge.

Goals
Fitness
Clean Eating

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I'm always planning. It doesn't mean I always follow it, but at least I know it's there. I'm always writing things down too. Keeping things in your head doesn't always seem to work, so I find writing them down, usually helps out a lot.

Goals

Short-term 1: To follow this week's fitness plan

Short-term 2: Drink my daily water (to find out how much you should be drinking click here)

Short-term 3: To lose 40lbs by December 14th, 2010

Short-term 4: Get up at 6am

Long-term 1: To lose 60lbs by Feb 22, 2011

Long-term 2: To lose 90 lbs by July 26, 2011

Long-term 3: To do the Skeena River Challenge in 2011

Fitness

30 minutes cardio 4x/week

45 minutes cardio & core 1x/week

Strength training 4x/week (legs, back/chest, shoulders, bi's & tri's)

Clean Eating

Eliminating processed foods from diet. Consuming a diet of lean protein, whole grains, fruits & vegetables.

Progress

A great way to keep track of your progress is not only by writing it down, but also by photos. I will be keeping track of my progress by my weight, measurements and photos. I know it's not the right thing to do, but I do weigh myself every morning. I will however only post weekly. I will take my measurements every 4 weeks and will also be taking full length front and side profile photos and posting them.

Current weight: 250.6lbs

So are we ready to do this?! You bet we are!! As Kevin McCallister says..."This is it! Don't get scared now!"
And to send us off on our first week, I quote my sister Jenna...

Be strong, be active, and be all that you can be. Be empowered by who you are and what you can do!

Post Internet-Free Zone...Night 1

2010-07-07T09:57:00.000-07:00

I did it!! Night 1 - success!

It was no problem staying off the internet. It helped a lot leaving my laptop at work and the home computer is downstairs now hooked up to the tv, so it's out of site out of mind really. So no problems there. I didn't even really check my phone...until I was in bed. That's when D was like...hey you're cheating!! Then I asked him if he had read my blog post about my "bad habit" and he hadn't. So I was like well here! So I went to the blog on my phone and passed it over to him to read...waiting for him to get to the part where I talked about my phone and being a cheater...I waited...and waited...and waited....then he turned and looked at me and I started laughing and he was like...CHEATER!! Hahaha!

So the tough part wasn't the internet...it was the eating. Did I succeed and not eat past dinner time?? .............................YES!!! Not without battle though. So how did I manage? I knew that my time when I first started to get that "wanting to eat feeling" was around 9pm so I said along with the "internet free zone", there would be a walk every night at 9pm. With my feet issue and just having my orthotics for a week today, I knew it would just be a short and slow walk and have to ease into it. So I knew I had that coming at 9pm. So how did I manage with my time after dinner? Well, with our glorious heat right now, I changed into my swimsuit and hopped in the pool. (Who says you shouldn't go swimming after you eat??) My pool is an above ground pool with the deck built around it. It's an octagon-ey shape. I can get 5 strokes across. So I swam for about 30 min. It felt fantastic! So that was fine. Then it was time for the walk. D & Henry came along. Henry was so happy to be out for a walk. I had to remind them that we had to go slower, so I could ease into walking again. So we just went around the block. Again, it felt fantastic! I just had a bit of pain on the outer part of my left heel (left foot is worse) but all in all I was impressed with my feet not being in excrutiating pain.

Once we got back to the house I was wanting to make Crystal Light popscicles, but didn't really have anything put make them in. Then D thought of the Jell-o shooter cuppies we have...PERFECT! So I made a jug of Strawberry Watermelon Crystal Light, filled up a cookie sheet full of cuppies and stuck it in the freezer (sooo can't wait to have a few tonight!!) Then I had enough leftover to fill a rubbermaid bottle to quench my thirst. So I took my juice and we headed downstairs to watch an episode or two of How I Met Your Mother (omg...LOVE this show! Absolutely hilarious!!). After one episode, I was really starting to feel the "wanting" to eat come on. I was like ohhh nooo. Don't cave, don't give in! I knew I couldn't. So I was like, alright, I'm really wanting to start to eat so...bedtime!

So then I got into bed and that's when I grabbed my phone to check Faceboosh and my blog. That's when I saw the comment from Raquel and I was like hey! That's exactly what I did tonight! If you missed Rachel's comment on the last post...check it out. I'm also going to post the tips on the Facebook page. Thanks girl!!!

So I'm proud girl today! Internet-Free zone night 1 was a success and I didn't give in to my night eating voice! Night 2 is coming...but I'm sure it will be just as successful!

Bad Habit

2010-07-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

I seem to have picked up a bad habit and I'm having a really tough time shaking this one. This isn't something that's new really, just one that went away and snuck back up on me and blam-o! - Late night eating.

Late night eating how I detest thee. Though I must be getting some kind of wonderful enjoyment out of you if I continue to "see" you every night. The cereal, the sandwich, the toast, the granola bar....notice a pattern here....carbs! The feeling starts to come over me usually around 9. I try to push it to the back of my mind, but as the minutes pass by, it creeps itself to the forefront of my brain and then there it is. I can no longer resist. I cave. I give in. All willpower is lost and to the pantry I go to get cereal or a granola bar. Or I think...will it be cheese or peanut butter on my toast tonight (because you gotta have protein!).

Every morning I wake up and I say, today is going to be a good day. I'll get my eating right, I'll try and get a bit of exercise in and it'll be great! The day starts. I have a nice healthy breakfast. I have a good snack. Lunch is fab. I have another great snack. Then a nice healthy dinner. Dinner ends and already in my mind I'm thinking forward to those later hours and how I'm going to stave off the late-night eating. I think what can I do that will keep me busy? I could go for a bike...a few more days I could go to the gym...I could finish packing up my project room...there's so many things I could be doing. What do I usually end up doing? Sitting down at my laptop...on facebook...and I waste my time.

Wow. You know what just happened. I started off writing this blog with the intentions of writing about my late night eating bad habit. Then I just realized now, there's another one that has some very close ties....Facebook....Crackbook, lol. What a time suck it is! It's actually amazing how you start out on it and it's such and such time, and then you look at the clock and think, holy f***, has that much time passed already?! Nooo.....really?! Yes, really. So I could be outside doing something active, or making lists, or packing. Instead, I'm just sitting there on my arse, facestalking people who really aren't that important in my life (of course none of you fit into that category) and just wasting my time. I actually already made a decision this morning before getting to work. This decision will actually allow me to really focus on the things that need to get done and also allow me to focus on ways to stave off that late night eating...the bugger!! No Internet after 8pm. WHOA!! Shocking!! I need to eliminate this mindless bad habit, so I can focus on my other bad habit - late night eating.

It will be tough, oh I know it will be tough. My eyes will wander over towards my big comfy chair, where I sit with my laptop. I'll start to get fidgety. Yes, I will probably check facebook on my phone (so I may cheat a little), but NO INTERNET after 8pm. I can do this! My house will be a Internet FREE zone after 8pm. We'll see how this goes...

What can happen in a year?

2010-07-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

A LOT!!!

However, since this blog IS called Terra Fit, I'll just stick to the happenings that have to do with that.

So! As I sat here a year ago, I was a pretty unhappy girl. It may have appeared that I was very happy, however I am a master of disguises. I've actually been this way pretty much my whole life. I appear one way on the outside, but inside, it's a whole other story. I'm a smiler. I put on a smile and everything appears it's okay...it's not. It's kind of like being an actress or on the air. No matter what's going on around you, inside you, you can't let that show. You have to smile and the show MUST go on. That's not very healthy is it? Not at all.

I remember watching Dr. Phil and seeing shows about how people measure their happiness based on the success of their wealth. He'd always try and get them to see that happiness shouldn't be based on that. At the time, I'd think to myself, well at least I'm not like that. I don't measure my happiness based on my wealth, or lack thereof. (Though, who am I kidding...having more $$ would be nice!) But you know what? I was just like those people. I measured my happiness on my weight. I always have. I never truly felt pure happiness because there was always that voice in my head that told me I couldn't be happy because I was fat.

So how did that change? Well let me tell you, it didn't just happen over night. Like I said at the beginning A LOT has happened in the past year. A LOT had to happen for that to happen. You hear about how it takes hitting rock bottom for something major to turn around. I realize now...I hit my rock bottom. When it comes to weight and people hitting rock bottom, you usually then hear, "I was at my all time high weight of...", however, that wasn't my case. My all time high weight was 287 when I got married back in September 2005. My rock bottom came when I was at my lowest weight I've been in 12 years. So really, it had nothing to do with my weight. It was my way of thinking.

When you have weight issues, you carry so much extra baggage with you - no pun intended. It's not just physical, it's also mental. It's so easy to just crawl inside yourself and stay there because then you can't feel the pain of dealing with all those issues. But, it can be a dangerous place to get trapped inside yourself. Especially for someone like me, who's a smiler. It can lead you down a path, where you don't really want to be - trapped inside yourself and in your thoughts. It's like they're playing tricks on you making you believe that it's what you really want. I became numb to everything around me. I thought I wanted out of my marriage, I thought I wanted to leave my job, I thought I wanted to leave town, I thought I wanted to just run away. I thought, "Yes! I'm finally being truthful with myself. This is who I really am! I'm finally going to be who I want to be!" That's where I got trapped. The whole time I thought I was trapped here. The truth is, I was trapped in me. There was a tiny little voice in there though that kept saying, "No Tara, this isn't what you want. This isn't who you are." I ignored that voice and kept pushing it further and further and further away. Then on May 16th, (on the verge of losing it all, for what I thought was what I truly wanted) it was like that voice finally found its voice and just said, "ENOUGH!" It found the courage to burst through all of my other negative thoughts that had been at the forefront of it all and just stomped on them all saying, "No! No! No! This isn't what you want! This isn't who you are!" It was like an explosion inside my brain and the brick wall just came tumbling down...CRASHING down! I could finally see and think clearly and then came the tears. I couldn't stop crying and then hyperventilating. I was a mess, but it was a GOOD mess. I was finally conscious of everything around me. It was life altering. When I think about it, the image that comes to mind is those horses that pull carriages and they have those blinders on. My blinders were finally removed and I could see everything. It really is amazing what you see when you don't have those blinders on! I'm the happiest I've been in years!

I may not be at my physical goal yet (still a ways to go), but I'm working on it. Since August I've lost 40lbs and gained back 15(it was a rough winter dealing with my plantar fasciitis and all of this...), but I'm moving forward. The difference this time is that I realize I can be happy NOW. I don't have to weigh 160lbs to be happy. Happiness won't just magically appear when I weigh 160lbs. Yes I'll look and feel fabulous, but I have so much more to be happy about. I'm learning to live in the moment and look to the future.

This battle is not only physical, but it's also a mental and emotional one. If your mind set isn't in the right place for you, it's going to be that much more difficult. When you have the mind set and realize YOU CAN, there are no limitations as to what you can achieve.

Pt.2

2009-06-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, I had to blog as soon as I got home. I was wrong about the no uphills :S
I forgot about the other side of the new bridge...heading into Terrace...it's an uphill...and it's quite long.......lol

But I'm here blogging, so obviously I made it!!! :)

Summer!

2009-06-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

Yes! It's officially here!! Oh how I love summer! Yes, I do say that Fall is my favorite season, but it's only because my most favorite day is a crisp fall day with a clear sky and the sun shining. However, it's probably only by a percentile that it takes that title...Summer, how I love thee!!!

D's been driving my car. I had to switch to automatic from my standard, because of my foot...it was making my plantar fasciitis worse. Saturday, because we were having a garage sale and I've been trying to sell my car, we decided to keep it in the driveway on display at the sale, so he took his car to work. Well we've had some problems with it...it is afterall, very close to the 200 thou km mark....So when he got home Saturday, something else happened. I said of course. When you take it to work, something happens. I could have it for however long and nothing. So to make a long story short, lol, it has forced me to finally bike to work. I figure, today is the 2nd day of summer, it's about time!

When we lived in our other house, I had biked to work a few times and loved it. We lived on the southside and so I took the new bridge. Since we've moved to the Horseshoe, I have been putting off doing the ride. I would have to cross the old bridge....AIYEE!! I also wasn't sure about time either. It kinda seemed like it might take much longer. So, this morning, I finally took the plunge! And it worked out to be about the same timing...

I DID IT!!!

It was oh so painless as well! And the great thing I'm thinking about, is the ride home. When I was going the other way, I had to battle the hill coming up from the old bridge. I'm going the other direction this time. I don't even think I really have any uphills.

Isn't it funny, how you get something in your head and you can put it off and put it off and put it off. It's that fear that holds us back...the fear of the unknown. You know, I can't think of any situation where my fear was holding me back and then when I actually faced it, it wasn't even as close to being bad at all. Oh the mental game of it all!!!

So I know for our challenge, we were supposed to do something that took us out of our comfort zone, like every day. Well, this is what I wanted my challenge to be for me...and I finally did it! The final day. Better late than never.

I did it!!!

Oh, I also pool jogged in my pool yesterday...I had been wanting to do that, and I finally did.

Summer, how I love thee!!!!!!

Team Terra Fit Challenge 4

2009-06-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

Hello Team Terra Fit,

I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather we’ve all been blessed with; however, let’s hope it hasn’t hindered your fitness goals too much?! It is the temptations we must resist that go so well with the heat: many margaritas on the patio, too many chips on the beach, and an overdose of ice cream to cool off…

Remember, try not to reward yourself with food, but rather use the weather to perhaps think about all of the great activities you can do outside with friends and family: bocci ball in the park, a swim at the lake or in a pool, croquet in your back yard, Frisbee in the field, hitting a bucket of balls at the driving range – the list goes on and on!

This is the last 2 weeks of your current program – keep it up!!! Hopefully, you’ve made progress with the amount of weight you’ve been able to lift and/or the number of repetitions. As far as the challenges you’ve been given, keep up the cardio challenge but try to push yourself just a little more over the next 2 weeks.

As far as the push-up and triceps challenge, I’d like for you to decide which of the 2 you feel like doing each day. Perhaps you’d like to alternate to give yourself a break and to mix it up?!
This week and next, you all have a “Support” Challenge. This is something that you all must take the initiative to do AND post on the site to share with each other! You all must try something physical you’ve either NEVER tried or HATE doing (because you’re either not good at it OR had a bad experience in the past) 2 times during the week…a TOTAL of 4 things that may be perhaps, out of your comfort zone.

This exercise is not only good for the body, but also good for building your spirit and soul! As far as the “post” you can decide to either share your experience with everyone OR simply share the activity to give others some more ideas. This is meant to build you as a person, not to frustrate you. It’s good to do something once in a while that scares you or challenges you and I KNOW you are ALL up for the challenge.

Some examples I can list are as follows:

Baseball (ask around if anyone needs a spare or get a group together for a game in the park)
Ultimate Frisbee
Golf
Bowling
Swimming
Dance lesson
Bocci Ball
Croquet
Touch Football
Skateboarding (it’s WAY harder than it looks…my brother made me try when we were younger and I fell flat on my ass…but I will never forget that I at least attempted it!
Hiking
Rock climbing (if available in your area)
Curling
Skating
Rollerblading
Kayaking
Canoeing

Okay…a good start to the list! Remember the magical number of 4(minimum).

Have fun with it. Take your camera and take some pictures…it may be a great experience that you want to remember not only by thought, but by many photos too?!

Be strong, Be active, Be all that you can be, Be empowered by who you are and what you can do!

Jenna

Team Terra Fit Challenge 3

2009-05-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

On top of what you are doing, we’re going to now add another strength challenge as well as introduce LSD Training into your workout week.

“LSD” or “Long Slow Distance” can also be known as steady state training. This is great for a number of reasons: One of those reasons is that it will help with the efficiency in burning fat. Often doing long walks, runs, swims, bikes at 60-70% of your maximum effort for a long duration (1+hours) you are in an aerobic state, which means you are mainly burning fat for energy. Over time, doing these work outs, you will get more efficient in the aerobic energy break down process (fuel for the body). Another reason is that it will increase the capillary density in the muscles. Capillaries are small “net like” areas in the body where the oxygen-rich blood and oxygen-depleted blood are exchanged. When you develop more capillaries you become more efficient in getting fuel to the muscles and getting rid of the waste – improving your endurance levels. You will also increase both your artery and vein diameter, allowing for more blood to pump through the body, resulting in more energy getting to the muscles faster – again making your body more efficient at getting rid of any byproducts. AND you will also increase the mitochondrial density in your cells. Mitochondria are responsible for the breakdown of sugars, which gives you energy. More mitochondria will help you go faster and again, more endurance.

Challenge 3

Jenna

Team Terra Fit Challenge 2

2009-05-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

On top of your routine that you are doing, let’s add a 2 week challenge for both your cardiovascular and Muscular strength/endurance levels. We are going to focus on toning the back of your arms, your chest muscles as well as wrist strength by performing….wait for it…more PUSH UPS….and some INTERVALS!!!

Challenge 2

Keep up the great work ladies! Remember to love your body, it is what is going to get the work done. Remember to listen to your mind, your determination, is what is going to get you through the work!

Be proud of what you’ve accomplished so far, and be excited, knowing that you are going to accomplish so much more on our journey together as a team of dedicated women, looking to make a positive change in life!

Keep us posted on your progress.

Jenna

Naturopath

2009-05-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

I am just reeling in excitement right now.

I just came from my first visit with a naturopathic doctor. If any indication of how it went, is my getting into my car afterwards and just bawling, from sheer joy and happiness, then it went pretty well. I couldn't believe it. Finally, what I have been looking for! FINALLY!

I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 16 years old. It has been a long battle. For those who know PCOS, you'd probably be able to tell that I have it. But for those who aren't familiar with it, you'd never know.

I could sit here and tell you all about it, but to save time, here's a link to the wikipedia article:

PCOS on Wikipedia

Since my time of trying to get a diagnosis and up until now, I have been to an endodrinologist, 3 ob/gyns, 3 family doctors and now finally a naturopath. I have done quite a bit of research into this, and when you're looking for answers, you know in your heart, you can't stop looking and you want to know more.

When I was diagnosed, I was put on the pill and told to lose weight. That losing the weight, would help control the pcos. Well hello! Easier said than done. Along with the pcos, I am insulin resistant. This is what makes it that much more difficult to lose the weight, along with all the mental issues.

Insulin Resistance on Wikipedia

So since we've decided that we wanted to start a family, I knew that I was really going to have to get things into motion. I'm still not 100% sure if I will be able to get pregnant, but I'm not even thinking that at all. As long as I keep my thoughts positive, and put that out there, that's what I'm focusing on. I have to have faith and believe in the power of attraction. What's meant for me, will be.

So I was absolutely thrilled when I found out that my naturopath knew so much about PCOS. Usually, when you talk to a doctor about, you end up with a blank stare and some silly blurb, which has been heard over and over again. She has treated women before with PCOS. So yes, I was thrilled, when I did NOT get a blank stare.

I just want to take a moment to say why I'm talking about this. A lot of women want to keep this private. It can be embarrasing, a lot of the symptoms that come along with PCOS. The excess facial and body hair, the thinning hair, the obesity and the list can go on. I used to be one of those women. But why I'm talking about this now, is for awareness. This syndrome, is not very well known. It's not out there in the mainstream. But there is a lot of women affected by this. Sure, the number may only be 5%, but still, that's 1 in 20 women. I'm a very open person, I never used to be, but I think now, the more we can talk about it, the more people who can know about this, maybe I'll reach that one woman who's been looking for answers, trying to figure out what's going on. Maybe I can help her.

So one thing that I have grown very tired of, is the medication. Since I've been 16, I have been on some sort of medication, every day, to help my body work. I want my body to function on its own, naturally. We came into this world, drug free. That's how I want to be. My main concern was fertility. But what I have realized, is that I'm #1 here. It's not just my reproductive system that I have to be concerned about. It's my whole system. Everything is connected. I've finally found someone who will listen to my concerns and help me. So yes, by the time I was done, I was so overcome by emotion, I just sat and cried. This is a new beginning.

I love to learn and I'm always excited when I find out something new. Especially about the body and its relation to food and nutrients. I'm very excited at the plan we have started to put in place. I'm very excited at the possibilities. I will probably post more about this later. I just had to share my experience. And of course, the first person I called, while I was bawling my eyes out in the car, was my mom, who's been there from the very beginning of it all....Thanks Ma!

Sidelined....again

2009-05-11T21:06:00.001-07:00

Well first of all...let me mourn the Canucks............OK!

I can probably count the times that I have tried to get my act together and really do this once and for all. Except, every time that I've been able to get into a routine and get it down and start doing really well...something always happens to me! Always!
Now whether it's become something mental where it's like I'm expecting it, so I bring it on myself, I'm not too sure. But it's happened...again...but this time....it's different!

My plantar fasciitis. Oooh, I just want to wish it away. It's come back with a vengence in my left foot. I've suffered from it in both my feet, but my left foot, ohh it's painful. So this is why I haven't been on. But why not, you might be asking. It's not fingers that were broken that could prevent me from typing, lol. Again, it's all mental.

I said this time, it's different. Yes it is. Because before, I would just end up feeling sorry for myself. I would fall back into bad old habits (oh so easy to do!) and would just end up back at square one. But this time, yes it's different. Sure I felt some self-pity. I wasn't able to do the work outs as I had wanted. But I still got to the pool (except last week). Okay, so maybe that was a bit of a fib, but I missed one week! But what's different, is that I kept at it in my mind. I didn't stop what I was doing. When I was feeling down about my foot, I didn't comfort myself with food! I didn't comfort myself with food! That is a huge step! I still kept planning. I still kept making sure I was eating what I was supposed to be eating. That is HUGE! I can proudly say, that I have been eating well, eating what I should be, to help with my pcos. Yes, I have PCOS. I will get to that another time. I just feel so proud of myself for not letting my emotions control what I eat. I have been eating for fuel. Not for comfort. Not for pleasure. Eating to live, not living to eat. YES!

So, we're still going strong. I might not be able to totally do the challenges as I'd like. But I'm going to modify them, to fit my needs and my stupid foot :)
I got my orthotics adjusted today...and instructions to stretch my calves for 5 minutes, 3x times/day! So hopefully, this will help. And! I've decided to trade in my car, which I think is making my foot worse. It's a standard. My clutch foot, is the bad foot...so hopefully we can find something soon!

I should be getting an update for the challenge tonight from Jenna. So it should be posted by tomorrow. I love how everyone is getting involved. This is so great! So cheers to everyone! and HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

Team Terra Fit

2009-04-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

I know Jenna posted the Week 1 challenge today, but we've decided that we're going to run this set from May 1st-Aug 15th. That gives this challenge 15 weeks. The reason for this, is that Jenna is going to be up here the week of August 10th and she said what she'd like to do is have a wrap-up boot camp and ladies' lunch! I think that sounds like such a great idea!

So what she'd like is for anyone who wants to join Team Terra Fit and follow this challenge to "sign-up", so she can get an idea of who's in and she can help you with your progress and such.

If you have a google account, you can let us know in the comments for this post. It's pretty easy to get one, www.google.ca/mail. If not, you can send Jenna an e-mail.
*Note - If you really don't want to get a google account, I've just changed the comments settings so you can now leave comments as "anonymous", but we'd love to know who you are!

Let's get everyone involved! Tell your friends about Terra Fit. Get them to tell their friends! I think this is going to be so much fun and we're going to get healthy and LIVE life at the same time!!!

We both look forward to hearing from you! We can do this!!

Goooooo Team Terra Fit!!!

Challenge #1

2009-04-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

Good morning Team “Terra Fit”,

Welcome to your first week of your fitness challenge. Before I begin explaining the first routine, I want to make it clear that I am available for any questions or concerns you may encounter over the next 4 months of your program. YES…4 months to stick with this together to inspire and motivate you to become a healthier you. We are going to start with this program and add some minor changes to it in 2 weeks…we want to keep you engaged and challenged, but not overwhelmed with trying to remember too much too soon!

I would like you to get a journal and label this your “Workout Journal”. On the front page, you are going to set a goal. This goal needs to be measurable and timely. Let’s put August 15th 2009 down as the date you would like to achieve this first goal. For example, if you would like to lose “x” number of pounds, write that down or if you want “x” clothing to fit better, write that down. Remember, 4 months isn’t a long time; so be realistic with your goal. Once we achieve that goal on August 15, we can set another goal and put a time line on that. We should feel good when we reach our goals, not feel bad or discouraged for not reaching them – especially if we set that goal too high from the start! (If you’re not sure if your goal is too zealous, you may e-mail me to ask for feedback jennakurylo@gmail.com).

This front page should also include your current weight and the circumference of your waist (let’s say navel level), biceps (even distance between elbow and shoulder), thigh (even distance between hip and knee), chest (nipple line).

The 2nd page of your journal should include the actual Terra Fit Challenge #1.

Click here for Challenge #1

As you can see, it is laid out in a 6 day rotation. This is up to you when you start or finish (trying to have only 1-2 days off in the week. You can decide if you take a break after day 2 or 3….or if you need a break after any of the other days, making sure you still do the next day of work in order.

Cardio is a MUST! Try and squeeze in at least 30 min each day. The format is up to you (just write down in your journal what you did on that day).

Writing in your journal is VERY important. There are 5 “MUST ANSWER” questions that you need to write in your journal EVERY Day and you can find these in Challenge #1. Writing down your answers with as much detail will be most beneficial to you and it will keep you honest with yourself. These answers will help me help you down your journey to success. If you don’t write down these answers, how will we know the progress made or the changes needed to help you with your challenges?

To clarify question 3: “How hard you worked?” Refers to what is called a “modified Borg Scale”. This is a scale that looks at how difficult you’re working. The Figure below will indicate the difficulty of work, related to your breathing. Again, as you become healthier, you’re going to be working harder to try achieve a higher number on the scale (a good thing).

Figure 1. Modified Borg scale.

Again, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to send me an e-mail. jennakurylo@gmail.com

Remember, you are strong – MIND over Muscle…you can do it!!!!

Jenna - Terra Fit resident expert

What happens when you fail to plan

2009-04-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Did I not just write about planning? What was that quote? Oh yeah..."Failing to plan means you're planning to fail" Hello!

That's exactly what happened on Thursday. I woke up without a plan. I was a bit out of my routine as I had been on-location at McDonald's all week with William. Nonetheless, that's no excuse.

I find when I don't have a plan, I don't eat enough during the day. Then, that leaves my body wanting more calories at night, which will 99.9% of the time end up coming in the form of carbs. If I don't plan, I'll have whatever I can throw together without one, but I'll forget to eat snacks. Those snacks are so important!

So Thursday is also my tv day...sooo not a good day to not have a plan! I've got The Office, Survior and Grey's Anatomy. Oh why do they all have to come on the day?! The funny thing is though, is that I can plan how to watch them! I tivo Survivor at 5, so that it's already started to record when I get home from work, then I set The Office to record at 6. So I watch Survivor and then The Office, then Grey's Anatomy at 9! See I can easily plan my tv on the fly...why is it so tough to plan your day's menu on the fly?!

So we threw on a frozen pizza to eat while watching Survivor and The Office. Definitely not the greatest choice. I could see if maybe it was on a whole wheat crust, but it was white crust. Not good. Maybe even if we had a salad with the pizza. But it was just the pizza. Split between Dave and me.

We also had to go get a few things at the store for the yard, so off to Wal-Mart we went. Well I saw they had a new flavour of 100 calorie packs of chips - Sour Cream n Onion Ruffles..ohh yumm! In my head, I'm telling myself..."Tara, it's potatoes, you can't have potatoes." Then there's my other little, though mighty powerful voice..."But they're only 100 calories!" So into the cart the box went...URGH...I knew better.

After we left Wal-Mart, we were both feeling pretty hungry. Well it's no doubt. Refined carbs in the pizza crust. In a normal person, that just gets immediately turned into glucose and gets burned off quickly and doesn't have any lasting power so it wouldn't be long before one would feel hungry again. For me, that gets turned into fat.

So I suggest McDonalds. Yes, I had been at McDonalds all week and my willpower was getting worn down. But I thought (yes, always trying to rationalize a poor decision) if I make sure that there's a fairly decent choice, I'll be okay. We decided on splitting a 10 pc McNugget meal with rootbeer and large fries AND split a Chipotle Grilled chicken snack wrap.

Well let me tell you where I went wrong on all levels. Though I did try to justify my choice by getting the grilled chicken over the crispy chicken in the snack wrap. The McNuggets are deep fried - helloo! It was just bad over all. I ate half the fries...I can't have fries! Potatoes! Deep fried McNuggets! White flour wrap! Pop! OY! Oh, the double oy is coming...a bit after eating the McDonalds...I went upstairs and grabbed one of the Sour Cream N Onion Chips! OY OY! Ohhh did my stomach give me a talking to later that night.

So that's what happens when you fail to plan.

This girl rocks!

2009-04-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

From day one I have been cheering for this girl. She is absolutely amazing. She just has this attitude that is so infectious, it's incredible. She was always talking about how she was on Biggest Loser for a reason and that was to help other people. To let them know, that if they were just like her, that they could do it too. That there was hope!

I truly believed that Kristin was going to be Bob's first Biggest Loser. She was afterall, the first woman ever to lose 100lbs while on Biggest Loser - in 12 weeks! Kristin lost 100 lbs in 3 months! Holy cow!! However, $$$ was in someone's eyes and Kristin was voted off last night. In her update at the end, she's now lost 140lbs!! I can't wait for the finale! We'll be picking our jaws up off the floor!

She is featured on the cover of this week's Life & Style weekly and in the article she said something that struck me and I just started crying.

If I could have one message, it would be this: Don't wait for your Biggest Loser moment. Losing weight is more mental than anything else. When you start to lose motivation, close your eyes and envision what your life could be if you push forward and keep up the weight loss. I promise, it will be worth it.

So through my tears, I closed my eyes. I saw it. I saw my life and I knew... it was worth it.

Click here to read a snipit of the article.

My girl Kristin and Bob Harper

What I'm Eating

2009-04-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

Well due to my insulin resistance I'm having to adjust to eating a different way. Really, I think this is the way that everyone should be eating. I think if everyone were to eat this way, we would be an extremely healthy people!

I'm not following a specific diet, but what I am doing is using the principles of a low glycemix index diet, the concept of the Zone Diet and eating clean. Basically this consists of lean protein, fruits & vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats. Mostly what I'll do, especially for dinner, is use a smaller dinner plate and do 1/2 veggies, 1/4 protein and 1/4 carb. I will also try to not have any more than 2.5-3 hours between eating. I am also trying to consume 3 litres of water a day.

Here's an example of my menu:

Breakfast: Muesli (1/2 cup steel cut oats, 1 scoop vanilla whey protein, 1/4 light soy milk, 1/2 low fat yogurt, 1 tbsp slivered almonds, 1/2 cup chopped strawberries, 1/4 apple chopped and 1 tbsp dried cranberries)

Snack: 1/2 banana & 1/2 protein bar

Lunch: Tomato Cucumber Salad (10 cherry tomatoes halved, 3/4 cup cucumber chopped, 1 tsp olive oil, salt & pepper) and Ham & Hummus Pita (1 whole wheat pita, 1 tbsp hummus, 2 lettuce leaves, 4 slices of lean ham)

Snack: Creamsicle Smoothie (1/2 cup fibre-rich OJ, 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt, 1 scoop vanilla whey protein, ice cubes)

Dinner: Chicken and Lentil Stew and 3/4 skim milk
Chicken (skinless chicken breast sprinkled with salt & pepper, cinnamon, cumin and coriander - baked (4-6oz serving))
Lentil Stew (onion, celery, green pepper, eggplant and garlic sauteed with some olive oil. 1 can of lentils and 1 large can diced tomatoes. Season with cumin, coriander, salt and pepper (1 cup serving))

Snack: Cottage Cheese and strawberries (1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese and 1/2 cup chopped strawberries)

Grocery shopping, I make sure I stock up on all my staples needed to fuel my new lifestyle. I then take about 10 minutes before I go to bed and plan out my following day's menu. I have a wipe board calendar in my kitchen with a notes section and I write the menu right on there. This is working wonders!

My girl Kristin from The Biggest Loser had a saying, I think I saw it on her Facebook profile, "Failing to plan means you're planning to fail". How true is that?! You come home hungry, no plan in sight, you go to the cupboard or fridge and the only thing in your head is EAT! So you just grab whatever and it usually ends up being a poor choice. If you have that plan in place...your only choice is SUCCESS!

Happy Monday!

2009-04-20T23:01:00.000-07:00

First I'd like to thank Tara, the best sister in the world, for inviting me to be a guest on her blog and the lovely introduction to you. I have been a leader in the fitness industry for nine years and I have a wealth of knowledge that I am excited to share with all of you!

I am honoured to be included in Tara's journey to health and wellness via the internet, knowing that it's not as perfect as being able to work with her in person, but it's the next best thing! I hope that as readers, you can all benefit from my expertise by participating in the online fitness routines I will provide, as well as share your thoughts, struggles and accomplishments. Together you will have fun, yet challenge yourselves with exercise, on a road to a better you - from the inside out. All of the exercise options can either be performed at your home, your gym or even in the outdoors to enjoy that glorious fresh air and sunshine!

This week, I would like to get an idea of what type of (at-home) fitness equipment you all have access to. I will then be able to better set up routines. I would also like to find out what type of exercises you would be interested in trying as well as how often and how long you can commit to exercise each week.

My idea would be to post a new routine every second Sunday and see how everyone enjoys it. Comments and questions will be welcomed and encouraged throughout the two weeks.

I look forward to hearing from you throughout this week!

The first workout will be posted this Sunday.

Yours in fitness,
Jenna

Welcome Jenna!

2009-04-13T11:12:00.001-07:00

Just like Oprah has her experts, so will Terra Fit!

I'd like to welcome Jenna to Terra Fit. Jenna is a group fitness coordinator with the YMCA. She is also a Registered Massage Therapist. Jenna instructs a variety of group fitness classes and she is also a certified Pilates instructor. Jenna has an extensive athletic background having played hockey and softball. Has competed in track and field and triathlons. She is an active long distance runner and competes in various marathons. She is also my sister.

Jenna will be lending her ideas on the fitness front providing us with different work out ideas, routines and exercises. She might even provide us with some great massage tips as well! She will also be available to answer any of your questions. Jenna, we look forward to your contributions here at Terra Fit!

I'm Back

2009-04-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well I wasn't ever really gone. But in the blogging sense, I definitely was. I don't think I lost inspiration, but I lost motivation - after one post nonetheless. But, I am back! I read a quote today. It was from The Biggest Loser's Kristin. It was her status on Facebook today.

Wanting it isn't enough. You have to work for it.

That one really hit home because how often I find myself trying to figure out how come I couldn't do this. How could me wanting to start a family so badly not be enough for me to conquer my unhealthy relationship with food and sedentary lifestyle. So it did hit home. Because wanting it isn't enough. I have to work for it.

I'm the solution.

2009-03-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

The other day I was talking to my new fabulous friend and I was talking about how I had been struggling. Struggling with lack of energy, zero motivation and not being able to figure out why. Then I was telling her about a profile that I had read that morning on Sparkpeople and how it had really spoke to me.

A lot of people ask me how I acheived my weight loss. They think there is some kind of all powerful secret that I can share with them that will make all of the puzzle pieces fall into place and melt the fat from their bones. Thing is, there is no secret. You just have to watch what you eat, exercise, drink water and most importantly, believe you can do it.

Or at least be able to fake that belief until you really believe it. Faking it is a-ok in my book...that's how I had to do it for the first 50lbs!

The most important thing I have realized through this process is that wanting to be thin isn't good enough. Wanting to wear cute clothing isn't good enough. Wanting to be accepted by others isn't good enough. Essentially, wanting the end result isn't good enough. You have to want the whole package. The good, bad and ugly. The triumphs AND the failures. The losses AND the gains. You have to be ready to take the steps to get healthy and make a commitment to yourself to follow through. Until you are ready to make that decision, all of the diets, websites and urging from others won't help you.

But when you're ready, anything is possible.
- SIMPLYTHAT

I realized, that was me. As much as I hadn't really thought so, it was. I have countless books on diets and fitness and I'm always looking for more. Do those pills in the aisle on the backside of the protein bar/vitamin aisle at Wal-Mart really work? I'm always looking for that right plan for me, for that website built just for me. I'm looking for that magical solution........it's me......I'm the solution..........holy crap.....I think I just had, as Oprah calls it...an A-HA moment...and the tears flowed.....

I was always looking for someone to blame. To blame for my lack of motivation, for my poor eating, for not exercising. Usually at the end of that blame, was my husband. Sure, he should shoulder some of it, but I have to take 100% of that blame. Every decision was my own. But what I hadn't completely realized, was that I was also the solution - to it all.

I really am grateful for having such wonderful friends, new and old, whose support on this journey has been, is and will be surmountable to my success - K, R & T.

My family has always been there for me, loved me for me and cheered me on in this life long journey and I love every ounce of their beings!

I am determined to persevere. I'm ready.

This is, Terra Fit.